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This is a copy of the most current NCRTL Take Action Alert
emailed to homes here in North Carolina.
Click here to subscribe
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Current Alert
Latest Update
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11/13/07
Bella the Movie is coming to North Carolina
Bella, the movie, is
scheduled to open in North Carolina in Charlotte and Greensboro on
November 16, according to the movie's web site
(Click Here). North Carolina Right to Life (NCRTL) has also
learned that the movie will also open at the West End Cinema in
Burlington and
at
Galaxy theatre in Cary, and the North Hills and
Brier Creek in Raleigh and at the Carmike 15 in Raleigh
(Click Here). All pro-lifers are encouraged to attend the opening
of the movie if you live in one of these areas. Please urge all
groups of all sizes and varieties that you know to advertise the
movie.
NCRTL also recommends that you check with your local theater to see if
and when Bella will be shown in your area and then let us know so we
can inform others.
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10/21/07
FINAL CALL
North Carolina
Right to Life Inc. Education Fund Invites Pro-Life Seniors to
Make a
Tax-Free
Charitable Distribution from your IRA
The Pension Protection
Act of 2006 allows eligible IRA owners to make qualified charitable
distributions up to $100,000 ($200,000 for married couples who
qualify) per year from traditional and rollover IRAs in 2006 and 2007
without paying taxes on the distribution. To learn more about making a
tax free charitable distribution,
Click Here to read the downloadable brochure prepared by Merrill
Lynch, North Carolina Right to Life Inc. Education Fund's brokerage
firm.
To make a distribution
for 2007 if you qualify, you must act quickly. December 31, 2007, the
program ends. After 2007, you will not be able to take advantage of
this opportunity. If you are not 70 ˝; but know someone who is,
please pass this email and/or information along to them.
North Carolina Right to
Life Inc. Education Fund is recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3)
Charitable Organization and can be the recipient of these tax-free
charitable distributions.
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10/21/07
Bella,
the winner of the Toronto Film Festival, is opening on October 26 in
select cities around the country but no where in North Carolina. The
movie has a wonderful pro-life theme. To get the movie shown in our
state, North Carolinians
need to contact their local theaters to ask them when the movie will
be shown in the area. You can read about the movie at
www.bellathemovie.com and listen to an
interview by
Raymond Arroyo on the World Over with Eduardo Verastegui, the star of
Bella.
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8/24/07
Healthcare - The Canadian System
Some
in the U. S. want to duplicate Canada's healthcare system. Before
"buying in" to their arguments, you should watch this video on YouTube.
If clicking on this link below does not work, simply cut and paste.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Rf42zNl9U
Please forward this
link to all your family and friends. We, the people of the United
States, can not afford to buy into a healthcare system which will copy
the failed systems of other countries like our neighbor to the North.
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7/9/07
Candlelight Vigil - Monday July 9th 2007 at 7:30 PM
The family of Jenna Nielsen will be among those participating in a
candlelight vigil on Monday, July 9 to honor Ethen Asdyn Nielsen,
Jenna’s unborn son. The vigil comes the day after Ethen’s due date and
the day before a press conference regarding House Bill 263, the Unborn
Victims of Violence Act. The vigil is open to anyone who wishes to
participate. The details are:
Location: Bicentennial Mall across from the Legislative Building
Time: 7:30 p.m.
(Source:
Justice4Jenna.org)
North Carolina Right to Life urges all
pro-lifers in the area to attend this event and lend your support to
the family and their efforts to pass H263, the Unborn Victims of
Violence legislation which was introduced this year in the NC House.
Background:
The North Carolina statutes do not recognize the
unborn child as a second victim when a crime is committed. For
several years, North Carolina Right to Life has been lobbying for
the NC General Assembly to pass a law similar to the federal law
known as the Lacy and Conner law. As in a previous year,
Representatives Walend and Folwell, have introduced legislation in
the NC House to recognize the unborn child as a separate and
distinct victim when a crime is committed against a mother and her
unborn child. (Click here to read the bill introduced this session:
H263)
This year Rep. Steen and Samuelson joined in as
primary sponsors of the legislation; but, sadly, as in previous
years, the General Assembly has failed to act on the legislation.
Hopefully, Jenna and Ethen's deaths will spur the leadership in the
General Assembly and the women's advocacy groups who have fought the
legislation to stop listening to the pro-abortion lobby and finally
pass the Unborn Victims of Violence, H263.
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5/9/07
NC Senate votes on
S 1046,
Advance
Directives/Health Care Power of Attorney
Tomorrow, May 10,
2007, the NC Senate will vote on S 1046, Advance Directives/Health
Care Power of Attorney. NC Right to Life has emailed all senators
to inform them of our opposition to the bill. You can read that
email below:
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North Carolina Right to Life's Position on S 1046
North
Carolina Right to Life (NCRTL) opposes S 1046, Advance
Directives/Health Care Power of Attorney in its present form. (S
1046, Advance Directives/Health Care Power of Attorney, could be
considered as early as Thursday, May 10, on the Senate floor.)
This bill contains
two dangerous new provisions aimed at ensuring patients will more
likely choose to have lifesaving medical treatment, food and fluids
withheld. In Section 11, the bill requires
physicians to comply with a patient’s request to withhold
lifesaving measures, nutrition or hydration. However, the bill fails
to provide any protection whatsoever for a patient whose stated
wishes include requests for lifesaving treatment, nutrition
or hydration.
S 1046 also
enshrines into law the use of a dangerous new document called the
“MOST” form (Medical Order for Scope of Treatment). If S 1046
passes, hospitals will routinely offer the MOST form to patients for
signature. However, it is unclear whether a “MOST” form would
supersede a patient’s previously executed document expressing
treatment preferences. Despite admitted confusion on the matter
among members of the Judiciary committee and the supporters of the
bill, the bill proponents have flatly refused to address this
critical issue within the context of the legislation. North Carolina
Right to Life supports removal of the dangerous MOST form all
together, or in the alternative, North Carolina Right to Life
supports an amendment to advise patients that signing the “MOST”
form may supersede any previously executed document expressing
treatment preferences to the extent there is a conflict between the
two documents. Patients in North Carolina have a right to know
the life and death consequences of signing the “MOST” form.
If S 1046 passes,
North Carolina law will clearly protect a patient’s wishes to die.
However, North Carolina law currently does not ensure that a
patient’s wishes for lifesaving treatment, nutrition and hydration
will be honored. This bill does nothing to solve this problem.
Moreover, because of the sponsor’s stated desire to ensure his bill
will meet crossover deadline, and despite NCRTL’s repeated requests
to amend the bill to protect patients who want to live, the
committee gave the bill a favorable report and sent our amendment to
a study committee. Turning the amendment we proposed into a study
amendment is unsatisfactory for the many citizens of this state, who
have stated their desire for lifesaving treatment, food and
fluids.
Our state is
quickly moving toward the day when not honoring patients’ requests
for life saving medical care, food and fluids will be the rule
rather than the exception and opens our state to being thrust into
the public eye. The NC Medical Society, a chief proponent of S 1046,
considers the patient’s desire for lifesaving medical treatment,
nutrition and hydration to be "futile" care, and in 2005, adopted a
formal resolution to recognize the right of doctors to refuse such
“futile” care.
Currently 10 states
have laws that allow treatment pending transfer.
NCRTL urges you
to oppose S 1046 in its current form, and urges your support to
amend S 1046 to ensure that a patient’s stated desire to receive
lifesaving treatment, nutrition and hydration will be honored.
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The Raleigh News & Observer published an article about the Diocese
of Raleigh's opposition to the bill. See that article below: |
Diocese opposes bill on life's end
New bishop has pushed the issue
Thomas Goldsmith, Staff Writer
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh came out strongly Tuesday
against proposed legislation aimed at strengthening patients'
control over the care they want at the end of life.
(Click
Here for complete article)
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Barbara Holt, NCRTL's president wrote to the reporter a response to
the article. See her response below: |
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Dear Mr. Goldsmith:
In your article "Diocese opposes bill on life's end" dated May 9,
2007, you stated that the proposed legislation S 1046 is "aimed at
strengthening patients' control over the care they want at the end
of life." Your statement implies that this legislation effects
equally those patients wishing lifesaving medical treatment, food
and fluids and those wishing treatments, food and fluids to be
withheld. There is nothing in this legislation nor in current
state law which gives patients desiring lifesaving treatment, food
and fluids "control over the care they want at the end of life."
The bill only advances and attempts to ensure the withholding
of "life prolonging" treatments, food and fluids.
In Section 11, the bill requires
physicians to comply with a patient’s request to withhold "life
prolonging" measures, nutrition or hydration by changing in
Section 11, subsection (c) the wording of the current statute from
"may" to "shall": "The attending physician shall follow, subject
to subsections (b), (e), and (k) of this section, a declaration
that expresses a desire of the declarant that life prolonging
measures not be used to prolong the declarant's life..."
Further, the bill states with regard to the portable do not
resuscitate order and the Medical Order for Scope of Treatment
(MOST form) in Section 14 the following: "It is the intent of
this section to recognize a patient's desire and right to withhold
cardiopulmonary and other life prolonging measures..." There is
nothing in S 1046 or current law to honor or recognize a patient's
right to lifesaving treatments, food and fluids.
Our state
is quickly moving toward the day when not honoring
patients’ requests for life saving medical care, food and fluids
will be the rule rather than the exception This will open our
state to being thrust into the public eye. The NC Medical Society,
a chief proponent of S 1046, considers the patient’s desire for
lifesaving medical treatment, nutrition and hydration to be futile
care, and in 2005, adopted a formal resolution to recognize the
right of doctors to refuse such “futile” care.
I welcome the opportunity to write
an op-ed piece to explain our position and why NC law needs
amending to protect a patient's right to lifesaving medical
treatment, food and fluids. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Barbara Holt
President
NCRTL
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Click Here for Fact Sheet
(fact sheet explaining why we need
this amendment) |
Click Here for Hartsell
Amendment
(amendment being offered by
Senator Doug Berger) |
Click Here for
Barbara Holt's May 3rd Testimony
(transcript of
testimony before the committee) |
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U. S. House Leadership to
launch attack
on grassroots lobbying
WASHINGTON (February 1, 2007) -- Under pressure from liberal
special-interest groups such as Democracy 21 and Public Citizen,
House Democratic leaders are expected to soon unveil an "ethics
reform" bill that will contain a provision to regulate so-called
"grassroots lobbying," by which they mean efforts to motivate
members of the public to communicate with their congressional
representatives about pending legislation.
Pro-life and pro-family leaders warn that if these groups are
successful, many genuine grassroots organizations – including
pro-life and pro-family organizations – would be saddled with
burdensome new registration, recordkeeping, and reporting
requirements.
On January 18, during consideration of its "ethics reform" bill
(S. 1), the Senate adopted the Bennett Amendment to protect
"grassroots lobbying." The amendment had been strongly supported by
a broad spectrum of advocacy groups, including NRLC, the Family
Research Council, the National Rifle Association, the American
Center for Law and Justice, the Free Speech Coalition, and the
American Civil Liberties Union.
However, pro-regulation groups are redoubling their efforts,
pushing the leaders of the newly installed Democratic majority to
restore such provisions when the House considers “ethics reform”
legislation soon. Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the pro-regulation
group Public Citizen, told National Journal, “They succeeded
narrowly in getting it [the grassroots provision] removed in the
Senate, but we are going to get it back in the House.” The House
Democratic leadership is expected to unveil its bill in
mid-February.
NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson warned, “Despite the
favorable vote in the Senate, a great deal of work needs to be done
to persuade House members to also reject this attack on grassroots
activism – and it needs to be done quickly. The House might vote on
the issue before the end of February.”
To read a detailed story on these developments, "Elitist
special-interest groups press Congress to curb "grassroots
lobbying," from National Right to Life News, click here.
For more information on the special-interest groups that are pushing
for curbs on "grassroots lobbying," click
here and
here.
Further details on the House legislation will be posted here
as soon as the bill is introduced. But don't wait -- please use the
"Take Action" form below to send an e-mail to your representative in
the U.S. House of Representatives, and to urge him or her to oppose
any restrictions on so-called "grassroots lobbying."
To sign up to receive occasional e-mail alerts from National
Right to Life regarding developments in Congress, click
here.
(SOURCE: NRLC WEB SITE)
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